The invention relates to a hand-held power tool such as a chainsaw, a hedge trimmer or the like, comprising a motor housing as well as a grip housing with a longitudinal support wherein the grip housing and the motor housing are connected to one another by antivibration elements. When looking at the power tool in the usual working position, a forward grip pipe is fixedly connected by a screw connection in the area of an connecting end to the longitudinal support of the grip housing, wherein at least one fastening screw of the connecting end is arranged at least approximately in a vertical direction of the power tool.
Hand-held power tools such as chainsaws, hedge trimmers or the like are held and guided in operation by the operator by means of several grips. Using a chainsaw of a known configuration as an example, in the usual working or operating position a rear grip facing the operator and a forward grip facing the saw chain are provided for supporting, carrying and guiding the chainsaw.
In operation, the drive motor and the cutting tool generate vibrations that must be kept away from the grips. For this purpose, a two-part configuration with a motor housing and a separate grip housing is provided wherein the grip housing and the motor housing are connected to one another by means of antivibration elements. The rear grip and the forward grip pipe are connected to the grip housing and decoupled from the motor housing in regard to vibrations by means of the antivibration elements.
In order to provide an ergonomic gripping in different grip positions, the forward grip pipe extends in an arc shape about the motor housing and is attached with a lower connecting end to a longitudinal support at the bottom of the grip housing. With regard to the size of the motor housing and in particular the total height of the power tool, the longitudinal support has only a minimal height. The grip pipe is also flattened in the area of the lower connecting end and is fixedly screwed from below to the longitudinal support of the grip housing.
In a widely used configuration two fastening screws pass with their longitudinal axis extending in a vertical direction through the connecting end of the grip pipe and are screwed by self-tapping action from below in the upward direction into plastic screw receptacles of the longitudinal support. For a satisfactory load capacity of this screw connection, an appropriate screwing depth must be provided. This screwing depth determines the thickness of the longitudinal support in the area of the screw connection and adds to the cross-sectional thickness of the grip pipe in this area. In addition to the aforementioned total height, a vertical gap between the longitudinal support and the motor housing must also be taken into account; this gap enables an elastic vibrational movement of the comparatively rigid assembly comprised of grip housing and grip pipe relative to the motor housing. The space for this is limited. In particular, an oil tank, for example, for oil for lubricating the chain, is often provided in this area, and the tank itself requires an appropriate space. In the desired compact configuration, in particular, compact in the vertical direction, this may lead to the thick longitudinal support of the grip housing coming into contact with the motor housing in the area of the screw receptacles as a result of a vibration-caused movement; this leads to cancellation of the vibration-decoupling action of the antivibration elements.